East Hampton Town has negotiated a contract with its Civil Service Employees Association union covering Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2023.
CSEA members ratified the agreement in an April 7 vote, with 74 percent in favor. The ratification, announced in a statement issued from Town Hall on Tuesday, comes more than two years after the previous contract expired. Negotiations commenced in 2018, prior to its expiration, but a mediator was called in when the parties reached an impasse.
Under the agreement, employees will see average annual wage increases of 2.5 percent through 2023, retroactive to January 2021. Lump-sum payments roughly equivalent to 1 percent annually will be made for 2019 and 2020.
The budgetary impacts of the agreement will be sustainable, according to the statement, because of the town's sound financial standing and budget practices. Officials call the agreement "another step in the town's recovery after a financial crisis a decade ago required issuance of a deficit financing bond," the final payment for which was made last month.
Recalibrating employee salaries, they said, will help the town remain competitive in attracting candidates for employment.
The town's merit pay program recognizing job performance will be preserved under the new contract, and employees who were awarded merit pay dating to 2019 will receive it.
The agreement outlines procedures for upgrading and reallocating salaries attached to particular Civil Service titles, affirming the town's right to regrade positions, which the union had contested. It also specifies how eligibility for overtime pay is earned.
Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, Vincent Toomey, the town's labor attorney, and Becky Hansen, the deputy budget officer, represented the town in the negotiations, with support from Len Bernard, the budget officer, and the town's finance department.
"I am pleased to have reached this agreement with the union representing our town employees, whose efforts keep our town running," Mr. Van Scoyoc said in the statement. "The contract not only provides for appropriate wage increases and compensation, but is fiscally responsible to our East Hampton residents and taxpayers."
